


the cold and dark

by sadonmain



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, DreamSMP, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Dream SMP Ensemble Angst, Gen, Hurt TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Mentioned Wilbur Soot, Prisoner Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Resurrected Wilbur Soot, resurrected tommyinnit, revival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29849493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadonmain/pseuds/sadonmain
Summary: “dream?” tommy couldn’t believe it. why was he back? how was he back? then, it dawned on him. his eyes darkened. “the book.” he pushed dream’s hands away. “you used it! it’s real!” his anger overcame him as he stood up, ignoring the headrush that came along with it.dream demonstrates his new abilities.based on (and contains spoilers for) tommyinnit's lore stream from march 4, 2021.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF)
Kudos: 73
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	the cold and dark

**Author's Note:**

> warning for manipulative and possibly triggering behavior from dream towards tommyinnit. if the lore streams were triggering, this might be as well.

_ not supposed to be here. _

tommy felt himself slipping away. it was cold and desolate here. colorless. how long had it been? he gave up long ago, when wilbur asked him about setting up a solitaire stadium. now, he could feel bits of himself slipping away. well, not so much slipping away as being torn from him. he would wake up, shaking, feeling like more and more of his memories were being pulled out of him, ripped away from him as he chased after. how long would it be before he forgot tubbo? phil? techno?

“how much time do i have?” tommy turned to wilbur. he was busy shuffling playing cards. 

wilbur stretched as he tossed the cards to the ground. “i'm not sure. let me check.” groaning as he stood up, wilbur walked into the haze. tommy couldn’t see where he went, but wilbur shouted from beyond. “do you want the universe? that’ll take a little longer.”

  
tommy looked at the tendrils of fog looping around his feet. what used to be his clothes were slowly fading, worse than they did during exile. dejected, he replied, “sure, i guess.”

clattering came from beyond. “one moment. while i try and find the info, let’s talk more about this solitaire stadium, yeah?”

tommy tried staring in wilbur’s direction again, only for the fog to meet his eyes once more -- almost clouding his vision on purpose. something was wrong. 

_ not supposed to be here. _

“hey, wil?” tommy’s breath was shaky. his hands were trembling as his vision blurred once more. he was losing himself. “why won’t schlatt speak?”

wilbur sighed audibly, even from his unknown location. “he just doesn’t. it’s been awhile, tommy. he’s tired. leave him be.”

swallowing his doubt, tommy sat down on the ground. the tendrils of fog welcomed him, surrounding him in a suffocating embrace. 

it was comforting, almost. he didn’t have to worry. if he wanted, he could let go. the fog would be there to catch him, embrace him. almost sensing his thoughts, the fog began to tighten, snaking up towards his nose and mouth. 

“well, tommy, i couldn’t find what you were looking for, but i can give a rough guess of about eight eons,” wilbur emerged from the hazy beyond to see tommy almost entirely submersed in the haze. “tommy? tommy!”

it was so peaceful. no need to fight. he was safe.

as wilbur walked closer, the fog became more violent. the tendrils tightened their grasp on tommy, invading his lungs faster, almost in a frenzy. the void wanted him, and it wanted him now. wilbur wasn’t going to get in its way. so, tommy let go.

***

“tommy? tommy?”

he wasn’t fully awake. tommy wanted nothing more than to be enveloped by the hazy beyond once more. why was it so hot? and bright?

“tommy, are you okay? wake up,” the voice said. it seemed worried for him.  _ how nice, _ tommy thought.  no. this wasn’t right. this wasn’t wilbur. 

tommy opened his eyes to find dream’s hands outstretched, shaking him. quickly, he backed away. his heart was racing.  _ this shouldn’t be possible.  _

dream looked relieved. “tommy! you’re back!”

“dream?” tommy couldn’t believe it. why was he back?  _ how  _ was he back? then, it dawned on him. his eyes darkened. “the book.” he pushed dream’s hands away. “you used it! it’s real!” his anger overcame him as he stood up, ignoring the headrush that came along with it.

“i waited beside you. i… i can’t believe it worked,” dream ran his hands through his hair, pacing around the cell. his clothes were still stained with dried blood. tommy grimaced.  _ probably mine _ . 

clearing his throat in an attempt to regain his composure, tommy turned towards dream. “how long was i gone?”  __

“long enough,” dream chuckled. “so, what was it like?”

it took everything tommy had not to kill dream right then and there. the anger coursed through his veins, begging for a release. speaking slowly, tommy glanced up. “you put me there.” dream averted his eyes, laughing into the lava. “you  _ put  _ me there with… with wilbur.”

dream perked up. stepping towards tommy, he asked, “who else was there? who did you.. what did you see?”

tommy shook his head. “you did this to me. how  _ could  _ you?” shoving dream to the ground, he shouted, “you complete asshole! i was shredded into dust! i was there for months, and you… you did it as an experiment? to  _ prove _ yourself? never,  _ ever _ do that to me again. as for what i remember? i remember you smacking me to death. i remember when you landed the final punch and that’s it. next thing i knew, i was with wilbur. not ghostbur, wilbur.”

deep in thought, dream said, “i miss him. wilbur was awesome. the things he accomplished in life, even in his death… can’t wait to bring him back.”

that was enough to push tommy past the breaking point. his fight against his tears was a losing battle. “do not… do  _ not _ bring wilbur back. please. whatever you remember about him, he’s so much worse now. death has made him colder, even more callous than before. this is not the man you remember. he never was and never will be  _ awesome. _ don’t you dare.” tommy looked at the ground. “i loved him. i thought of him as a brother, but i was able to recognize his faults. he was a broken man before he died. death has just made him worse. the thought of you bringing him back,” tommy held back tears, gasping for breath. “ _ promise me _ you won’t.” yelling once more, tommy shoved dream, leaving his hands on dream’s chest, his head between his arms. “ _ promise me!”  _

all dream could manage was a chuckle and a gentle hand on tommy’s back. “i promise to use the book however i see fit.”

tommy wriggled out from under dream’s hand. “you bastard.”

a devilish smile overtook dream’s face. he was drunk on power, finally coming to the realization tommy had dreaded since he was revived. pacing around the cell, dream muttered, “you know, this makes me… i’m….” growing louder, he threw his arms in the air. with his head angled towards the sky, he shouted, “i’m god! this makes me  _ god! _ ”

it was no use to shout for sam. it was hopeless. he was alone with dream. anyone who truly cared about him had mourned his loss already. that release tommy had felt after death, however scary at first, was the first time he was truly safe. tommy didn’t have to fight for his survival, his belongings, his livelihood. there was no one trying to take it from him. it was freeing to have a higher power like that in control. to know that no matter what he did, the afterlife was in control. the tendrils, the fog… they would always overcome him. if only he could go back.

tommy looked up at dream, trying to ignore the emptiness behind his cold, uncaring eyes. “what if i wanted to go back?”

a surprised look overcame dream’s face. of all the things he expected tommy to say, this was not on the list. “i thought you hated me for killing you? i remember you throwing me against that wall,” dream gestured at the wall across from the cauldron, “and telling me to never touch you again. to never  _ kill  _ you again.” he appeared to take great pride in the last statement, a reminder of his god-like status. 

tommy swallowed. “i don’t want to go back for your little experiment. i’m not a lab rat, i’m not… i’m not like all your other puppets here. i would stay there.”

dream laughed. “you don’t get a say in that, tommy.  _ i’m  _ the one who decides how the book is used.  _ i’m  _ the one who chooses who to bring back and when.” he paused briefly, weighing his options. “maybe i’ll be a benevolent god. i’ll allow you to spend some time with wilbur before i bring you both back. god knows --  _ i  _ know that you won’t have much time together once you’re both alive again.” he chuckled at his little joke.

a pit grew in tommy’s stomach. it was bad enough being trapped with dream before he knew he had the power to bring people back to life. now, it would be so much worse. he sank to the floor, his back against the wall.

“dream, please. don’t bring wilbur back. i’ll even,” tommy’s mouth was dry. the lava hurt his eyes. dream’s black silhouette was burned into his retinas. “i’ll even be your friend. like old times. just, please.” he had reached the bargaining stage. “i’ll let you use me for your experiments. i’ll go back, i’ll remember what i see, what i feel.” softly, tommy whispered, “ _ please,  _ dream.”

it would be no use. dream was long gone. his frenzied eyes were akin to that of a madman. this was a man who had seen god and defied him. this was a villain, a crook, a  _ demented  _ individual who now had the power to cause even more pain than before. walking over to tommy, once again placing a hand on his shoulder, dream sighed. “i can’t wait to get out of here.” tommy tried once more to escape dream’s touch. it only made him grip harder. “do you know who’s going to help me, tommy?”

the pit that was in tommy’s stomach was growing into an abyss. he didn’t need dream to say it. both of them knew. finally releasing his grip on tommy’s shoulder, dream stretched his arms in the air. “your old pal,  _ wilbur soot. _ ” he laughed once more, the horrid sound echoing off the obsidian walls. “i can’t wait to see him again.”

***

**Author's Note:**

> i speedran this after tommy's stream, oh god. personally, i can't wait to see how revivebur/alivebur factors into the current lore. 
> 
> as always, thank you so much for reading! i'm mxmranboob on twitter, stop by and say hi. let me know if you enjoyed or if you have any comments/questions/concerns!


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